Eleonora Duse

The most beautiful thing in the world is the world itself.

To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague.

I carry my country in my heart. I am Italian, and I am proud of it.

The actor's art is a living thing, it cannot be preserved.

I have no method. I have only life.

The true artist is one who can create beauty out of nothing.

I am not a woman, I am an actress.

The stage is my home, my prison, my freedom.

Art is a religion, and I am its priestess.

To be an artist is to live a thousand lives.

The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but what dies inside us while we live.

I have loved much, suffered much, and learned much.

The public is a monster that devours its own children.

My life is my art, and my art is my life.

The stage is a mirror, reflecting the soul of humanity.

I am a slave to my art, and a queen on the stage.

The actor must be a chameleon, changing colors with every role.

True art is born of suffering.

I have no home but the stage, no family but my audience.

The greatest gift an actor can give is truth.